>> mason: good evening, for those of you just joining us, this is a special expanded edition, i'm anthony mason. scott pelley had been reporting from the new jersey shore but the hurricane has knocked out our link to him. hurricane sandy is about to make landfall near atlantic city, but the impact of this storm is being felt all along the east coast. the governors of 14 states from north carolina to maine have declared states of emergency. let's get the latest now from cbs news hurricane consultant david bernard. david? >> good evening, anthony. a lot of trouble up and down the east coast tonight. sandy is basically not a drop cam system anymore, but the effects are all going to be the same. let's start with where the storm is right now and, again, we are looking at very strong waves occurring all across ptions of the jersey and also long island sound. notice just offshore we're seeing some of these wave heights still indicated near 45 feet, maybe higher. and even though the storm is here, anthony, it's still pushing a lot of water in from

the east and southeast. in fact, i was looking at some of the tide gauges in just the last few moments and places like the battery and even further east along the long island south and south along the jersey shore, those tides are reaching their highest levels of the day as we are nearing high tide in the next couple of hours. >> mason: david, we've talked about the storm surge. how does it work? >> when we talk about storm surge, we're talking about a lot of components that go into it. i was just mentioning high tide. so on a normal day you have your tide ranges, you have your low tide and you have your high tides. when a storm is going on, we have to also factor in the surge. the surge is not like a tsunami, it's a gradual buildup of water that comes along with the center of the storm and it pushes into the coastline. so we have the sea level, the tide, and the surge. and what happens is if it comes in at high tide like tonight, you have to add the high tide to the amount of the surge and when you do that, that equals the total storm tides. so when we talk about water

levels in long island sound and along the jersey shore could be anywhere from six to as much as 12 feet, that's what we're talking about, the storm tide, and that's how much water potentially you could expect at ground level. so if you know you're at sea level and obviously the storm tide would equal exactly what amount of water you could have your n your house. >> mason: david, how long is the worst of this supposed to last? >> that's the problem. right now the storm is moving at a pretty good clip. it looks like that low pressure center is going to slow down. so we're going to talk about on shore winds continuing probably for the next 24 to likely 48 hours. here's the satellite picture in the center of the storm right here. but look how the wind going counterclockwise around it are continuing to feed a lot of water, not only in the long island sound but also into the jersey shore and the track is going to be something like that. so we're going to continue with these on shore winds at least for the next day and probably for the next couple of days right here in south florida and the miami area. we still have large ocean swells that are causing coastal flooding here up and down the

coastline and sandy went by several days ago. >> mason: david bernard, thanks, david. flooding along the new jersey shore has cut some communities off from the mainland. you know conditions are bed when rescue crews can't even get around. elaine quijano has our report. >> reporter: pounding surf and rising water along the jersey shore had officials worried early in point pleasant, beach. >> it's completely underwater. i'm not going to chance taking this vehicle into it. >> reporter: by noon, the water was already so high even experienced rescuers had to turn around. >> you can see how deep it is. >> reporter: kyle grace with the city's emergency management team had a blunt warning for anyone who ignored the order to leave. >> they have to realize if it gets really bad here we can not come in and get them. so if you can get out now; get out now. >> reporter: authorities here know how deadly storms can be. last year, tropical storm irene swept two people out to sea.

>> people need to learn from that and listen to us and get away from the ocean, get away from where the tidal flooding is going to happen. >> reporter: one person who was on the beach after the evacuation order was mike koen. what are you doing here? >> i came over here to check one of the complexes that i manage. i'm setting my pumps up and leaving right now. >> mason: you expect high winds, heavy rain and flooding from a hurricane, but here's what makes sandy so unusual. it's bringing snow to the appalachians. anna werner is in elkins, west virginia. >> reporter: the national weather service issued blizzard warnings for more than 14 counties across the appalachian mountains as hurricane sandy hit a blanket of cold air. west virginia's governor earl ray tomblin declared a state of emergency as the snow began to fall. >> we're getting ready for the winter snow. >> reporter: the snow shoe mountain resort was one of the first to see the snow. four inches now could grow to a possibly two feet by tomorrow.

some roads are treacherous already. >> our friend's car doesn't have the greatest tires and they've done -- spunking around on the road one time so i decided to come get them. >> reporter: you'll do better. >> yeah. >> reporter: you got a four-wheel drive. >> reporter: i think so. >> reporter: travis ray is with the state's department of transportation. >> it's going to be very difficult. there's going to be guys out there in midnight and zero visibility conditions that are going to have to work and we have a very dependable work force but they're not ideal conditions for people to be out in but we're going to be out there to serve the public. >> reporter: the most critical problem here may be if the power goes out. companies are already warning the outages could be widespread as trees buckle under the early snow and fall on power lines. now, anthony, for as much snow as is coming down here now, state officials say the next 24 hours are going to be the worst. national guard is on standby and power crews and extra highway

crews are on alert to cope with whatever damage happens here over the next couple of days. >> mason: anna, what can you tell us about any power outages inland there? >> reporter: well, we do know that a few thousand customers are without power in the region but, in fact, just ten minutes nag the town of elkins right here behind me, the lights in the entire town flickered twice then the whole town went dark. some of them have come back on, but many of the businesses here appear to be without power as we speak. >> mason: anna werner, thanks, anna. as we mentioned, we lost our satellite connection to scott pelley but we have him on the phone now from allenhurst, new jersey. scott, you lost power where you are. what can you tell us about the conditions where you are now? >> pelley: anthony, well, to tell you the truth, i'm watching a (inaudible) a refrigerator floating by in the sea right now. it's a remarkable sight here in

allenhurst. the ocean is crashing over a sea wall. i'm about 15 feet above the beach at the sea wall and the waves are crashing over the top of the sea wall pretty routinely now. there's quite a bit of debris in the water and like i said, i just watched a couple of refrigerators float by. we're seeing a lot of wood, lumber in the water. obviously structures have been destroyed by the waves and seeing the debris going by right now. the winds at this moment are about 69 miles an hour according to the weather service, gusting up a little bit higher than that. but mostly the story here, anthony, as david bernard was saying earlier, it's the water. we are looking at mountainous waves, impossible to judge how tall they are. but they are crashing on to the shore here and now vaulting over this 15-foot sea wall which has been here protecting allenhurst for quite some time. the city itself, this city, is

largely dry except for the rain. we're not seeing massive flooding here at all. but certainly the waves are threatening the lower lying areas of new jersey all up and down the coast here. so a very significant storm, not a great deal of rain. winds about 69 to 75 miles an hour which would make it a category one hurricane and the sea rising and rising as the storm comes on shore. anthony? >> mason: scott, as we mentioned, one of the casualties of the hurricane was one of our live signals from scott in allenhurst, new jersey. today washington, d.c. could have been called washington, c.d.-- as in closed down. wyatt andrews is there. wyatt? >> reporter: anthony, washington, d.c. is 120 miles from the atlantic coastline from where scott is reporting and yet hurricane-force winds are still expected here. the threat of wind and flooding shut down most of the nation's capital today and will again

tomorrow. fear of hurricane sandy emptied the streets of washington. more than 200,000 nonemergency federal workers were told to stay home. schools were closed. the entire subway system was closed. the executive branch was mostly closed. congress was already on recess. only the supreme court was fully on the job, hearing two cases-- one on wiretapping, the other on copyright limitations, but the court and the rest of the government will be closed on tuesday. the number-one concern tonight is the danger from the wind. the weather service issued an unusual high-wind warning for washington and baltimore and is forecasting hurricane-force gusts of 75 miles per hour tonight. almost six million people live in the washington region and the threat of downed trees and lost electric power is extreme. hundreds of utility repair trucks and crew from outside the area have been brought in and

prepositioned, but can only begin the repair work after the storm subsides. the power company serving the washington region say that 100,000 homes are already without power and that's before these heavy hurricane-force winds bebe again slamming this region later tonight. anthony? >> mason: wyatt, when does it look like the capital will be open for business again? >> reporter: just before we came out here, the federal government announced yet again federal employees here-- and there are 300,000 of them, roughly 100,000 are emergency workers-ers-- they're being asko stay home again tomorrow so wednesday at the earlers. >> mason: thanks, wyatt. in new york city, a construction crane snapped today in the high winds and was left dangling 75 stories above the street. it's a precarious situation and john miller has been looking into it. john? >> reporter: anthony, i'm just back there from the scene and what you have there was hard to believe when you saw it. you have a crane that is at the

top of a 90 story building in the process of being built. this is on west 57th street just down the street from our broadcast center here and this is the street that is home to carnegie hall, the iconic russian tea roomhe steinway piano factory and all of it's been evacuated because the boom on that crane snapped off and is hanging over the street. now, authorities say if the rest of it breaks loose it could fall at such a velocity and hit with such an impact it could pierce the pavement, it could hit gas lines, water mains, steam lines and cause real disaster. so it's not a disaster yet, it's kind o a disaster waiting to happen. they're hoping that it won't, that they can tie steel cables to that boom, reattach it to the building, wait until after the storm passes and then dismantle it and take it down in a million pieces. but right now a main thoroughfare is shut down, a precarious situation still unfolding as the storm

approaches. >> mason: and i assume they don't want to send anyone up there to try to secure it. no, that was part of the discussion. that boom is still attached to the cables that run to the crane housing and they're hoping that all of that will hold it. in the meantime, they're just counting on the evacuation to keep everybody safe. >> mason: but the worst of the wind are still to come. >> that's right. >> mason: john miller, thanks. to the east of new york city, long island is getting hit with a storm surge. streets are flooded and more than 525,000 homes and businesses have lost power. michelle miller is in sag harbor. >> reporter: by noon, sandy's storm surge had already wiped out the laser-thin beach in sag harbor. police chief tom fabiano was stunned. how far did the beach go out? >> probably about 100 feet. >> reporter: there's nothing left. >> no, there's nothing left here. there's a playground behind us and in all the years i've been here i've never seen it come up to the road or anything like that. >> reporter: flooding is the

chief's main concern but he says winds are proving just as dangerous. strong wes stripped boats off their moorings and well-rooted trees were toppled. there is a voluntary evacuation order in low-lying areas here. have you ever seen it this bad? >> no, i haven't. i've been here 35 years doing this job. and this is not even the worst of it. >> reporter: at this bar across the street from te harbor the power was already out but people were trying to squeeze in a last-minute meal. >> it's pretty impressive to watch what's going on outside from here. you have to be concerned and careful. you have to stay awa from the hysteria, too. >> reporter: anthony, the corner bar and every other business here is shut down tonight and three quarters of this town are without power. a few peoplere milling on the streets, millingbout, but most of the people are heeding the warning from the police chief to buckle up and ride out this storm. >> mason: michelle millner sag harbor, thank you, michelle. further west, jim aelrod is in

downtown maattan at t tip of m a what's tt there? >> reporter: anthousny, j with the last hour the rain has startedo intensify, the wind has picked up. you can hear a sound as the wind whips through the skyscrapers of lower manhattan that sound like a jet engine and it seems as though new york is really about to feel the full force of hurricane sandy. the big concern is the water right over my shoulder. all eyes are on the sea wall. if that water comes up over the sea wall and works its way into the electricity generating equipment that's in lower manhattan and into the subway stations in lower manhattan there could be very serious implications. anthony? >> mason: jim axelrod, thanks, jim. that was dramatic rescue at sea aboard a ship you may recognize from the movies. and two presidential campaigns are derailed by a hurricane. that's ju,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

>> mason: the hurricane forced the presidential candidates to suspend their campaigning for a couple days. john dickerson is our political

director. john, with just a week until election day, how is this going to affect their campaigns? >> reporter: well, no candidate wants to look like he's taking political advantage of this cry seusz so with a week before the election this should be a time of frantic political activity but now the campaigns have to pear way back and calibrate every political move. usually at this time the campaigns are trying to hone their message down to a single simple closing argument to punch through the voters. but that's been interrupted and complicated now. both men have canceled a series of campaign events. the president has an official role and his strategists are trying to both highlight that role while at the same time not looking like they're doing so. mitt romney as no official role but by turning his campaign into a relief effort shows he cares and it keeps him in the news at this key time. losing the candidate on the stump is a blow to both campaigns in the battleground states where a candidate visit is an important part of the organization. it gets the candidates' message into local media where undecided

voters can hear it and candidate events lure voters who can be taken after the rally to vote early or convinced to volunteer for the final get out the vote effort. but while the candidates have suspended their public events for a little bit, the race does still continue. both campaigns were kicking each other under the table today in ohio over the auto bailout, releasing competing television ads and accusations. >> mason: john, how is this likely to affect the ground organization for both candidates in the key battleground states you were talking about? >> well, they'll continue fighting it out on the ground while the candidates are not there, but there is this element of without the candidates coming to pay a visit, the campaigns have to rely on surrogates to come and surrogates don't turn out the crowds as much. in some states, the crucial battleground state of virginia and then also perhaps a little bit in north carolina the ground game kind of has to halt in terms of just the fact that the weather is too bad and also because volunteers are busy cleaning up their basements and their front yards and they're not able to get on the phone and call voters to convince them to

vote for their candidate. >> mason: john dickerson, thanks, john. the deadly meningitis outbreak caused by tainted steroid injections has spread to 19 states. rhode island was added to the list today. the number of cases jumped to 347. 25 people have died. another drug-mixing company in massachusetts called infusion resource was ordered to shut down after investigators made a surprise inspection. lights, camera, coast guard. a ship straight out of hollywood

in the 1962 film "mutemy on the bounty" was at the center of a real-life drama today. the ship was battered by hurricane sandy and sank. the crew had to be rescued. david martin has the story. >> reporter: coast guard rescue swimmer dan todd was lowered into 18-foot seas 90 miles off the coast of north carolina. he swam to one of two life rafts holding 14 survivors. >> there's two people remaining in there. >> reporter: the three masted ship-- h.m.s. "bounty" was sailing from connecticut to ship-- h.m.s. "bounty" was sailing from connecticut to florida when it foundered. the coast guard homed in on their emergency beacons. what followed was the rescued of 14 souls from vessels pitching so violently that at times they capsized. one after another the crew members, wearing cold-water survival suits and life jackets-- were pulled aboard in the wildly swinging cage.

>> this one is swinging really bad. >> reporter: the swimmer remained in the water waiting for the empty cage to be lowered for another rescue. at one point he moved from one raft to the other by dangling beneath the helicopter. >> trying to stop the wind. i hope i'm not swinging dan too much. >> i stopped him. i think i threw my shoulder out. >> reporter: as the last survivor was hoisted aboard, the pilot was already making plans to refuel as soon as they landed to head back out and search for two crew members still missing. >> let's go to cherry point and drop these people off, hot gas and come back. >> reporter: some survivors suffered injuries but none were life threatening. the body of one of the two missing crew members has now been found. the captain of the h.m.s. "bounty" is still missing. >> mason: david, how long can he be likely to survive in those waters, do you think? >> reporter: the cold water survival gear they were wearing is supposed to enable you to survive for about 15 hours. the ship sank in materially

morning hours so those 15 hours are about up. >> mason: david martin, are about up. >> mason: david martin, ,,,,,,,,,,,,

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and sends every k through 12 dollar straight to our local schools... every school. for them. for all of us. vote yes on thirty-eight. >> mason: updating our top story, sandy is making landfall at the jersey shore near new york city. it's no longer a hurricane but it's still a dangerous storm. 14 states have declared statesor more than a million homes and sisses. flooding is a major concern. new york harbor could see a storm surge of up to 11 feet, enough to flood lower manhattan. gale warnings are up along the great lakes as sandy moves inland and as much as three feet of snow is predicted for the mountains of west virginia. financial markets in new york will be closed again tomorrow as will federal government offices in washington. and airlines have canceled more than 13,000 flights through tomorrow.

and that's our special expanded edition of the "cbs evening news." stay with this cbs station and cbsnews.com for the latest on the storm. for scott pelley, i'm anthony mason. thanks for watching. good night. captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

. >> you're watching cbs-50 eyewitness news in high definition. yeah! >> a homecoming fit for champions, mobile 5 is live as the bay area welcomes back the world series champs. >> this is not a time to be stupid. it is a time to save yourself

appeared your family. >> hurricane sandy is speeding watched the east coast and the entire northeast is preparing for damage. >> we are going to get to complete coverage of the giants' homecoming but first it is shaking up to be one of the most destructive storms in modern history. hurricane sandy is slamming the coast. 60million people are in the path. >> from atlantic city new jersey, paul diano is tracking sandy. >> she is on land right now. that is the update. we've had a land falling hurricane in new jersey for the first time in more than two rations. let's get the satellite loop. the storm is unprecedented. there is rain from maine to south carolina. that is how big the storm is. close to the center of the storm, these are the